The beleaguered Congress imploded on Friday when long-time loyalist Jayanthi Natarajan walked out of the party, leaving vice-president Rahul Gandhi to fend off charges of promoting crony capitalism in the name of protecting the environment.

This is not the first time that party workers have risen in revolt against Rahul Gandhi. Ever since the Congress party’s humiliating defeat in the last Lok Sabha elections, the demand for Rahul’s ouster has been raised from within the party every once in a while.

But nothing has been as damaging as the former union environment minister’s letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and her subsequent resignation from the party citing political interference and a vilification campaign against her by Congress members.

Jayanthi addressed a press conference in Chennai over the issue and announced her resignation from the Congress.

In one of the most damning accounts of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul during the UPA rule, Jayanthi’s “letter bomb” exposed the events that led to her sacking as the environment minister in Manmohan Singh’s cabinet in 2013.

She mentioned four specific big ticket investment cases — Vedanta, Adani, GVK,Lavasa and Nirma cases and Western Ghats row — that were stalled during her tenure at the direct intervention of Rahul Gandhi.

Jayanthi claimed that despite her following the party’s policies of protecting the rights of tribals and the environment, stories were planted by Rahul Gandhi’s office against her claiming that she was acting as a bottleneck.

'I HAVE PROOF'

“I was never a bottleneck, nor was I ever responsible for unwarranted delays in major projects. And I can prove this at any time. I was shattered by the attack upon me, and bewildered,” wrote Jayanthi in a letter to Sonia Gandhi in November 2014.

The “leaked” letter stirred a huge political controversy with the NDA government latching on to her allegations highlighting irregularities in the environment ministry whose file pile-up was made an election issue by Narendra Modi.

Jayanthi questioned her removal, saying she was only following the party line as instructed by party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who had forwarded several messages to her on the concerns expressed by various NGOs over environmental clearances.

Jayanthi questioned her removal, saying she was only following the party line from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi

'SPECIFIC POLICY'

“During my tenure as minister, it was the clear and specific policy of the party to take all steps to protect the environment, and carry forward the legacy of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, to preserve the environment, and keep a balance between environment and industry,” Jayanthi said in the letter.

“I received specific requests [which used to be directives for us] from Rahul Gandhi and his office forwarding environmental concerns in some important areas and I took care to honour those ‘requests’,” she said.

“Ï have always been loyal to the Gandhi family.”

FICCI MEET

Jayanthi noted that the day after she resigned as environment minister, Rahul Gandhi addressed a FICCI meeting of industrialists, where he made references to delays in environmental clearances, and the adverse effects upon the economy while assuring the corporates of no future delays.

She alleged that in following the party line to protect tribals, environment and forests, she faced the anger of other cabinet colleagues who said her move was impacting industrial growth.

“I asked him (Rahul Gandhi) what wrongdoing I had committed to warrant this treatment. I said that I should have been asked for an explanation,” she said.

ON SNOOPGATE

The former minister also said that she was forced by Congress leader Ajay Maken to target then BJP prime minister nominee Narendra Modi over the issue of alleged snooping of a woman in Gujarat.

“Despite the fact that I initially refused because I thought that the party should attack Shri Modi on policy and governance and not drag an unknown woman into a controversy, Shri Ajay Maken telephoned me on November 16, 2013, while I was on tour and asked me to come to Delhi immediately to address a press conference on the issue,” she said.

The former environment minister also spoke of an incident where she had sought a file pertaining to a case against industrialist Gautam Adani after she was removed. She was told the file was missing but it was later found in the washroom of the computer section.

The long list of charges and the alleged flip-flops of the UPA on environment policy has pushed Rahul Gandhi to a corner and provided more ammunition to the BJP to demolish what is left of the Grand Old Party.

Congress rebel on the CBI radar

At least five Preliminary Enquiries (PEs) are pending with the CBI against former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan. These are related to some environment clearances given during her tenure.

One of these cases pertains to Jindal Power and Steel Limited for diversion of forest land for mining in Jharkhand’s Saranda forests in 2013.

Another PE is about clearance given to an iron ore lease of Rungta Mines in the Ghatkuri Reserve Forest in Jharkhand.

The former minister is yet to be questioned in any of these cases. The CBI is said to be preparing a case for her questioning.

Officials said the probe in these cases was still going on and the former minister’s statement would be required soon.

Congress slams 'corrupt' Jayanthi's hypocrisy

By Amit Agnihotri in New Delhi

Stung over former union minister Jayanthi Natarajan quitting the party and targeting vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress tried to discredit her by saying that she had been removed by the top leadership due to certain allegations against her.

“It was the considered view of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and then prime minister Manmohan Singh to remove the minister after certain allegations were received against her,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

Singhvi said that at times allegations against a minister are sufficient to remove her, though they may not form the basis of a legal charge.

In December 2013, when Jayanthi was removed as the environment minister, the Congress had said she was needed for party work ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, since then, not only was she removed as party spokesperson, but was completely sidelined in the organisation.

Sources said both Sonia and Rahul were miffed over her conduct as a minister and added that allegations against Jayanthi ranged from corruption in giving environmental clearances to sitting over important files which should have been approved in a normal course.

A section of the Congress leaders alleged that she was aloof to concerns of party workers on farmers’ issues in Kerala which cost the party in the general elections.

In its attempt to further discredit Jayanthi, the Congress questioned the timing of her outburst and said that while her charges were untrue, her conduct was hypocritical.

Singhvi alleged that Jayanthi’s move, coming at a time when the top brass is engrossed in the Delhi Assembly polls, smacked of a political conspiracy.

Amid speculation that Jayanthi may shift to the BJP, Singhvi, without naming the saffron party, hinted she was doing all this to please those who had coined the term “Jayanthi tax” during the Lok Sabha poll campaign.

The Congress also tried to defend Rahul, saying that in following his messages to protect tribals, forests and environment, she was only implementing the Congress’s and UPA’s policies and philosophy.